Man arrested in JonBenet Ramsey murder

BOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) - An unidentified man was arrested in Thailand on Wednesday in connection with the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey, a child beauty queen whose grisly death triggered a U.S. media frenzy, prosecutors said.

The suspect, who was not identified by authorities, "was arrested following several months of a focused and complex investigation," Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy said in a statement.

Lacy said both the girl's father, John, and late mother, Patsy, were consulted during the course of the investigation. Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in June.

Prosecutors declined to release further details about the case or the suspect, but CNN identified him as a 41-year-old American school teacher who was visiting Thailand.

The suspect was expected to be returned in the coming days to Boulder, Colorado, where JonBenet, 6, lived with her family at the time of her December 26, 1996, murder. The United States has an extradition treaty with Thailand.
The girl's body was found in the basement of the family home and on a staircase a note was left saying that she had been kidnapped by a "small foreign faction" and demanding $118,000 in ransom.

Local KUSA-TV in Denver said the suspect had confessed to elements of the crime that were unknown to the general public.

John Ramsey confirmed in a written statement that both he and his late wife had been consulted in the arrest.

"So Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder," he said.

Ramsey told KUSA that to the best of his knowledge he was not acquainted with the suspect.

No charges were ever filed in the 10 years since JonBenet was found beaten and strangled. Her parents came under the Boulder police "umbrella of suspicion" but a grand jury issued no indictments.

The killing drew intense media coverage focusing on JonBenet's success in youth beauty pageants, the family's affluence and mysterious elements of the case, including the note that first led police to believe the girl had been kidnapped.

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